This invention relates to a cover assembly for a bowling lane ball return channel, and to the combination of the cover assembly with adjacent gutters.
Bowling balls returning to the front end of the lanes are purposely out of sight to prevent visual disruption of the game and for other reasons. The ball return track is thus covered with a housing and cover of some sort. However, there are times when access to the ball return track becomes necessary, e.g., for maintenance or to retrieve in errant ball that for some reason does not return completely and thus causes a blockade for subsequent balls, or other reasons. Access should not be so easy as to allow unauthorized persons to enter the ball return track, but should be readily accomplished by authorized and knowledgeable personnel. Further, the cover should be visually attractive since the large number of such covers and their considerable length makes them a substantial portion of the visual panorama of the bowling establishment.
Adjacent the ball return channel and astraddle thereof is a pair of gutters that serve adjacent bowling lanes. As is known, these gutters receive errant balls that depart the lane during bowling. Typically these gutters are constructed separate from the ball return channel structure.